Headlands Technologies LLC Raises Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 115.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,958 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,260 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares during the last quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $336,000. Tradewinds LLC. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $228,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,312,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,533,378 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,188,889,000 after acquiring an additional 107,108 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.0 %

NOC stock opened at $512.42 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $74.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $478.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $492.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company’s Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.